The healthcare security administration bureaus in Shanghai, Beijing, and other regions have recently removed limits on drug use quantities in hospitals. This move is aimed at bolstering the access of drugs listed on the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) to healthcare facilities.
Shanghai’s Initiatives for NRDL Drug Procurement
Shanghai’s healthcare security administration released a notification on December 31, 2024, establishing a green online procurement channel for NRDL drugs. The notification urges designated medical institutions to hold pharmacy meetings within one month after the release of the Shanghai local RDL to optimize the hospital’s drug supply catalog and achieve “full supply of drugs.” For newly added drugs that cannot be temporarily included in the hospital’s drug catalog but have clinical demand, a green channel will be established to include them in the temporary procurement scope. Additionally, there is no quantity limit on the number of varieties in the drug catalog of hospitals at all levels, and designated medical institutions are not allowed to restrict the allocation and use of innovative drugs based on the number of drug catalogs or the drug utilization ratio. Newly added negotiated bidding drugs will be budgeted separately and will not be included in the hospital’s total medical insurance budget for the first three years.
Beijing’s Support for Innovative Medicine Development
Beijing released a set of measures in April of last year to support the high-quality development of innovative medicine, requesting the cancellation of limits on the quantity of drugs in medical institutions. A recent notification implementing the NRDL highlighted the access of the latest NRDL drugs to hospitals and required designated medical insurance institutions to hold pharmacy meetings before the end of February 2025. For negotiated drugs that cannot be temporarily included in medical institutions but have clinical needs, they can be included in the scope of temporary procurement, with a green channel to simplify procedures, shorten cycles, and procure them in a timely manner. For drugs that are temporarily unavailable, it is required to establish a sound prescription circulation mechanism and improve drug accessibility.
Expansion of Measures to Other Regions
Guangdong, Sichuan, and Jinan in Shandong province have also canceled limits on the quantity of drugs in medical institutions, aligning with the broader efforts to enhance drug availability and accessibility across China.-Fineline Info & Tech
